For the first time in nearly a decade, 2014 won’t provide fans with a Pixar film. The closest thing is probably Planes: Fire and Rescue, the sequel to 2013’s Cars spinoff, Planes. (Disney’s Big Hero 6, out in November, is in the mix too, but there’s no trailer yet). In this sequel, Dusty (Dane Cook) is forced to leave racing and decides to go for a more noble calling, “Fire and Rescue.” However, it’ll be tough to gain the respect of his peers coming from such a pampered lifestyle.

Below, check out a brand new Planes Fire and Rescue trailer, some new characters (who are Cars, not Planes) as well as a list of new cast members including Ed Harris, Wes Studi, Fred Willard, Jerry Stiller, Erik Estrada, John Michael Higgins, Hal Holbrook, Kevin Richardson and Patrick Warburton. It opens July 18. Read More »

The Magic of Belle Isle is a dramedy about a “wheelchair-bound author moves to a rural town, where he befriends a single mother and her three kids, who help reignite his passion for writing.” But more importantly, its the new film from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rob Reiner, the director of This is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, The American President, The Story of Us, and The Bucket List. With a list of credits like that, you would think a new film from such a talent would be big news, but Reiner has been playing it pretty low key for a few years now. Many people missed his 2010 film Flipped, which was a touching coming of age film of yesteryear. Reiner doesn’t seem to care about making contemporary movies anymore, and instead is aiming to make the types of films that we all grew up with.

This review has two spoilers and they are labeled as such in the article.

If that twat Leona Helmsley had seen Wall-E she probably would have left $8 billion to an unkempt robot trash compactor. Or by default Pixar. The nonpareil animation studio’s ninth film is arguably their best, a touchstone for the current culture that will outlive us all and make its way into lonely, lonely space one day strapped beside There Will Be Blood. I’m not overlooking the “contrarians’” views of the film either; Wall-E is definitely a hypocritical vacuum of sorts, vaulting its strong wake up, shape up and save-us-all-from-Wal-Mart message into millions of laps dampened by extra large sodas, fast-food flatulence and sweaty anticipation for an endless sea of Wall-E merch.

At Comic Con this year, WALL-E director Andrew Stanton confirmed that there would in fact be a live action element in the upcoming Pixar film.

“We’re not doing anything like Happy Feet,” said Stanton. “There is a live action element involved but that’s the most I can say.”

And that is a good thing because I thought the live-action integration in Happy Feet was very off putting. Last month actor Jeff Garlin added that he is the “only animated character that speaks” in the film. Garlin plays the Captain of a starliner ship, which most of humanity (now couch potatoes) call home.

“A lot of the film is silent and they’re robots so they make noises and such and there’s sound but I’m one of the only characters that speak â€“ not one of them â€“ I am the only animated character that speaks,” Garlin said. “There’s another character but I can’t talk about it. But I’m the only animated character that speaks.”

The film follows a small Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class robot (or WALL-E for short)’s fantastic journey across a universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future. We’ve wondered for a while now who this other character was and if he was the live action element of WALL-E. And thanks to Rotten Tomatoes, we now have the answer:

The Live Action Element of WALL-E is… Fred Willard. You know, the guy from the Christopher Guest mockumentaries. Apparently Willard plays Shelby Forthright, the CEO of the Buy N Large corporation.

“[Buy N Large] practically owns everything in the world. It’s kind of a take off on Wal Mart.”

You can actually visit the official website for the fictional corporation at buynlarge.com. So how will a live-action Fred Willard look in the computer animated world of Pixar? Well…

“I appear on a TV monitor but I’m more than a voice. Jeff Garlin is a voice but people are saying, ‘Oh, you’re a voice.’ No, I actually appear. People will say, ‘Oh, that’s Fred Willard.'”

Having the live-action human character on a monitor might be a lot less jarring than seeing a human interact with with the Pixar animated characters. Willard has already recorded his footage for the film, which hits theaters in June 2008.